Void formation and structure change by heavy ion irradiation were investigated in GaSb and InSb thin films. The voids were formed after irradiation in both materials. The average diameter of the voids was about 15nm in GaSb and 20nm in InSb irradiated with 60keV Sn+ ions to a fluence of 0.25 x 1018ions/m2 at room temperature. The void size in InSb was larger than that in GaSb. The large void size was quantitatively explained by the amount of induced vacancies obtained by the SRIM code simulation. The Debye-Scherrer rings were observed in the SAED patterns on both materials. The structure changed into a polycrystal by ion irradiation. Additionally, the 200 superlattice reflections in the [001] net pattern were almost absent, and the streak pattern along the <110> direction was observed in InSb. It was considered that the anti phase domains of different lengths were formed by ion irradiation. Ion irradiation transforms the structure of InSb from chemical ordering to chemical disordering via the formation of antiphase boundaries.

Void Formation and Structure Change Induced by Heavy Ion Irradiation in GaSb and InSb. N.Nitta, T.Hasegawa, H.Yasuda, Y.Hayashi, T.Yoshiie, M.Taniwaki, H.Mori: Materials Transactions, 2010, 51[6], 1059-63